Slide viewer



Sept. 6, 1955 1 R, MlLEs 2,716,918

SLIDE VIEWER Qriginal Filed Aug. 25, 1950 United tates Patent O SLIDEVIEWER .lohn R. Miles, Chicago, lil., assigner to Michael S. Wollt,Qliicago, lll.

Original application August 25, 1951i, Serial No. 181,553, now PatentNo. 2,621,993, dated December 16, 1952. Divided and this applicationOctober 23, 1952, Serial No. 317,257

3 Claims. (C2. 88-1) My invention relates to improvements in film slideviewers, and more particularly to a novel film slide frame constructionfor use with film slide viewers.

It is a principal object of my invention to provide a film slide viewerwhich is simple to operate and highly efficient, and which enables thesame device to be used for viewing both slides and strip film.

Another object of my invention is to provide a compact, inexpensivecombination film slide viewer and film slide dispenser.

These and other objects of my invention are achieved by my new filmslide viewer, in which the slide dispensing magazine comprises abox-shaped compartment in the lower portion of the viewer, whichcompartment includes a top, floor therein on which the slides arestacked, and a gate across one side of the compartment, the gate beingspaced below the top to form therewith an upper opening through whichslides may be inserted into the compartment, the gate further beingspaced above the floor to form therewith a lower opening through whichslides may be removed, together with means for closing off the saidupper opening and means for varying the effective height of the loweropening both to accommodate slides of different thicknesses and to closeoff the lower opening. The viewer provides also means to facilitategripping the lowermost slide, by grasping two corners thereof, to assistin its removal through the lower opening in the compartment; and similarmeans at the upper opening in the compartment and at the slide guidingmember of the viewer itself.

By placing the slides to be viewed one at a time in the compartment,through the upper opening, it is apparent that the slides can be removedin a predetermined order from the lower opening in the compartment forplacement in the film slide viewer for examination and viewing.

In preferred embodiments of my invention, the film slide viewer includesan inclined mirror above the dispenser compartment, a top opening in theviewer directly over the inclined mirror, and means for positioning(inserting and removing) a film slide, held at two corners thereof inthe viewer between the top opening and said mirror. It also includes amagnifying lens positioned in the wall in front of the mirror, tomagnify the projected image of the film slide on said mirror. Advantaveously, an auxiliary magnifying or correcting lens may be hinged tothe aforesaid wall of the film slide viewer, for movement to overlie atleast a portion of the magnifying lens in said wall, for closeexamination of the film slides.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 181,553filed August 25, 1950 and issued as Patent Number 2,621,993 on December16, 1952.

In order that my invention may be more fully disclosed, reference is hadto the accompanying drawing which illustrates one form of apparatusembodying the foregoing and such other principles, advantages orcapabilities as may be pointed out as this description pro- Mice ceeds,or as are inherent in the present invention. For purposes of clarity inexposition, the following description is explicit, and the accompanyingdrawing is detailed, but it is distinctly to be understood that saidexposition is illustrative only, and that my invention is not restrictedto the particular details recited in the specification or shown in thedrawing.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a front view of a preferred embodiment of my new film slideviewer;

Figure 2 is a left side view taken in section on the line 2 2 of Figurel;

Figure 3 is a rear view taken in section on the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view taken in section on the line 4 4 of Figure 2;and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary right side view taken in section on the line 55 of Figure 1.

Like reference characters designate like parts in the drawing and in thedescription of my film slide viewer which follows.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Figure 2 thereof,my new film slide viewer is shown as comprising a housing which issubdivided by the partition 11 into an upper film viewer portion 12 anda lower film storage and dispenser portion 13. The film viewer portion12 includes an upper guide or frame member 14 within which is formed anintermediate channelway or slotted opening 15 adapted to receive andalign a picture slide beneath the frame opening 14a. As clearly shown inFigures l and 3 the slot openings or channelways 15 and 16 extend acrossthe front and back walls of said frame member 14. The fore portion ofthese walls is undercut, thereby facilitating insertion and removal of aslide held at two corners thereof. The guide member or frame 14 alsoincludes a pair of interior grooves 16, 16 at an upper level in whichthe cover or diffusion plate 17 (Figures 2 and 3) is slidable. The cover17 preferably is quite translucent, to allow a substantial portion ofexterior light source to impinge upon a film slide inserted in theslotted opening 15 and to project its picture image upon the inclinedmirror 18. In addition, the cover 17 acts as a dust cover, to preventthe entry of dirt and other foreign objects into the interior of thefilm viewer portion 12.

A narrow slit 48 is formed in the side wall of frame 14 opposite theopening 15 (Figure 3) so that strip film may be threaded through theviewer below the cover 17 for purposes of editing.

A reflecting mirror 18 is held in an inclined position in the filmviewer portion 12 by the frame ri'os 19. A plano-convex lens 21) ispositioned in the front wall 21 in front of the mirror 18, and acts tomagnify the projected image of the film slide on the mirror 18. As shownin Figure 2, the lens 20 is inclined from the vertical approximately 10degrees, for a purpose to be deH scribed presently. The front wall 21immediately below the lens 20 contains a recess 22, in which anauxiliary magnifying lens 23 and its holder 24 are hingedly mounted on apin 25. The recess 22 contains a finger groove 26 to facilitate swingingthe holder 24 upwardly on the pin to position the lens 23 in the mannershown in dotted outline in Figure 2.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 2 and 3, a gate 27 extendsacross the right side of the housing 1l), as viewed in Figure 1, thegate 27 being spaced below the partition 11 to form an upper opening 28..fn addition the gate 27 is spaced from the fioor, or false bottom 2F)to form a lower opening 30 in the housing. The front wall 21, the rearwall 31 and the side wall 32 opposite the gate 27, are all closed, sothat the film storage and dispenser portion 13 is essentially abox-shaped con- 3 tainer having an upper opening 28 and a lower opening30 therein.

The gate 27 is provided with two vertically disposed grooves 33 and 34.A linger tab 35 having a protuberance 36 thereon is slidable in thegroove 33. The linger tab further includes a closed slot 37 which issubstantially parallel to the groove 33, and through which the stud 3Son the gate 27 projects. A washer 39 is interposed bet-Ween the stud 38and the linger tab 35, and is held in place by thermally heading oversaid stud 38. By means of the prot'uberance 36, the tab 35 may beshifted up or down along the groove 33, to bridge the lower opening 30lin varying degrees, for a purpose which will be explained presently.Similarly, a finger tab 40 having a protuberance 41 thereon is slidablein the groove 34, and is held in position by the headed over stud 4Z andthe washer 43 which mates with the closed slot 44. The nger tab 40 canbe shifted vertically to close ofi? the upper opening 28, much as theiinger tab 35 closes off the lower opening 30 in varying degrees. Twofinger grooves 45, 45 are formed in the base 46, and are positioned atopposite ends of the lower opening 30, as best shown in Figures 3, 4 and5.

To use my invention, the operator first selects the slides which are tobe viewed and places them` one at a time in the storage and dispenserportion 13 through the upper opening 28, in the order in which it isproposed to e);- amine side slides. When this has been done, the slidesare arranged in a stack 47 in the lower portion 13, as indicated indotted outline in Figures 1 and 3. The operator then adjusts theposition of the iinger tab 35 so that the clearance between the lowerend of said tab 35 and the floor 2.9 is such that only one slide at atime can be removed from the housing 10 through the lower opening 30.The adjustability of the finger tab 35 is especially advantageous, sincethe slides may be of different thicknesses, depending on the type ofslide binding or slide mounting frame which is used.

The linger grooves 4S, 4S, continuing the side opening 30 in front andback, enable the operator to clamp the two outer corners of thelowermost slide between two fingers, and thereby pull said slide throughthe lower opening 30. A similar arrangement is provided, and a similaroperation is thus allowed, at the upper opening 15.

As each slide is removed at the bottom, it is inserted in the upperslotted opening 15. Light, which may be either external light or anelectric bulb positioned over the translucent cover 17, casts a virtualimage of the slide on the mirror 18, which is then viewed through thelens 20. Because of the inclined position of the lens 20, the filmslides may be comfortably viewed by holding the viewer in the hand,or'placing it on a desk or table before which the observer is seated.Thus it is unnecessary when using my invention to hold the viewerbetween the source of light and the eye, or to tilt the viewer toobserve the film image. By hinging the lens 23 and its holder 24 on thepin 25, additional magnilication of the slide may be obtained, to enablethe operator to examine details of the slide. After each slide isexamined, it can then be placed in a stack or, if desired, reinsertedintothe lower portion 13 through the opening 28. In either case, theslides are maintained in a predetermined order, for viewing in thedesired sequence. Moreover, since only one slide at a time can beremoved through the lower opening 30, the operator can automaticallywithdraw a slide and place it in the slotted opening 15 without evenlooking at the slide; yet be confident that the slides will be shown inthe desired sequence.

Advantageously, the lower portion 13 of the housing 10 serves as aconvenient storage compartment for a quantity of slides, and the housing10 can be carried about turned upside down or on a side, without theslides dropping out of or becoming disarranged in the lower portion 13.This desirable feature is accomplished by moving the finger tab 35 downuntil it contacts the iioor 29', and moving the linger tab 40 up alongits groove 34 until it contacts the partition 11, thereby providing aclosure for each of the openings 30 and 2S. The washers 39 and 43provide sufficient binding between the finger tabs 35 and 40 and thegate 27, to securely hold said tabs 35 and 40 in the closed position.

In practice I prefer that my combination film slide viewer anddispensing and storing magazine be molded from one of the many suitablethermo setting plastics. The lenses 20 and 23 and the cover 17 may bemade of glass or plastic, while the nger tabs 35 and 40 and washers 39and 43 may be inexpensively stamped or formed from metal.

Having thus fully disclosed my novel iilrn slide viewer and integraldispensing and storage magazine, and demonstrated its utility byreference to a specific embodiment thereof, I claim as my invention:

l. A portable viewer for slides such as is adapted to be formed byplastic molding and which comprises a principal body for enclosing arectangular space, an inclined mirror disposed in said space to reliectrays from a top direction of said body toward a front direction thereof,a front wall to said body having a viewing aperture, a lens over saidaperture, the top of said body having a light projection aperturetherein, said body including a peripheral frame surrounding and abovethe projection aperture, said frame having a pair of side approachchannelways opening at the side of the viewer for the reception of alight diffusion slide, and a pair of side approach channelways openingat the side of the viewer for the reception of picture slides betweenthe light diffusion slide and the light projecting aperture, the framebeing narrower at the place of opening of the irst channelway than thespacing between the second channelways so that a straight slide insertedin the second channelways projects beyond the frame at the firstchannelway to facilitate gripping of the slide for removal, the side ofsaid frame opposite the one in which said second channelways open havinga slide back stop to limit the extent of slide insertion thereby and tofacilitate the rapid insertion and framing of picture slides forsuccessive exposures.

2. The combination set forth in claim l in which said insertion limitingside wall includes a horizontally extending slot in registration withsaid intermediate level channelway for the reception of continuousmultiple picture film strip therethrough alternatively to pictureslides.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said peripheral framecomprises vertically conforming side wall elements and vertically offsetfront and rear wall elements, said offset corresponding to greater widthin the picture slide receiving channelway in contrast with saiddiffusion slide channelway, and marginal portions of said front and rearwall elements at the slide insert side wall end being undercut tofacilitate grasping of the picture slides for removal.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,105,395 Balmitgere Iuly 28, 1914 1,564,722 Tauern et al. Dec. 8, 19252,165,903 Nuchterlein July 11, 1939 2,211,376 Isbell Aug. 13, 19402,410,722 Eckert Nov. 5, 1946 2,520,432 Robertson Aug. 29, 19502,608,903 Nemeth Sept. 2, 1952 2,617,218 Antos Nov. 11, 1952 FOREIGNPATENTS 93,280 Austria June 25, 1923

